


you're my necks victim

by kwonbagel



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bad Puns, Chef Kim Mingyu, Crack, Dancer Xu Ming Hao | The8, Fluff, Jeon Wonwoo & Wen Jun Hui | Jun Are Best Friends, M/M, Minghao was probably the reincarnation of a basic white girl, Minor Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Vampire Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Vampires, Wen Jun Hui | Jun is a Sweetheart, witch wonwoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-05-20 14:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19378375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kwonbagel/pseuds/kwonbagel
Summary: "what if a vampire drank the blood of someone who was anemic would they be seriously grossed out" au





	you're my necks victim

In retrospect, Minghao should have realized it the moment he missed his bus.

 

Honestly, it was all Soonyoung's fault.

 

Minghao was fairly new to Seoul, having arrived only a few days previously. Finding his way around Pledis University was a difficult task, as expected. Especially when you weren't fully fluent in the country's language. He'd admit that was partially his fault to blame, having procrastinated his workbook in favor of enjoying the last few months he would see Mingming, his closest friend, until break. 

So there he was, fiddling with his Nordstrom backpack as he wandered around campus. He was already five minutes late to his biology lecture so he figured there was no point in rushing. That and it wasn't like he would be able to understand any of the terms anyway. So really, no important matter to rush to. 

 

_ Fuck.  _

 

Pieces of paper flew everywhere and rained down on Minghao, who was lying on the ground as he clutched his side. His bag had taken most of the fall, but his breath was still knocked out of him. He could vaguely recall a mop of red hair coming towards him in a brisk manner moments before. 

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry!" A male with chubby cheeks scrambled to get all of his notes while apologizing profusely. Minghao collected his breath for a second before crouching to join him grabbing the papers. 

"It's okay. I wasn't paying attention either."

"No, I'm so sorry. I'm late for class. Oh my god, Professor Yoon is going to have my head."

"Professor Yoon, you said?"

"Yeah...why?"

"I'm in her class too. I'm kind of lost."

"You must be new then! No wonder I didn't recognize you. I'm Kwon Soonyoung."

"Xu Minghao."

"Are you a foreigner?"

"What gave it away? The name or the butchering pronunciations?" 

"More like the pins." Soonyoung pointed to the pins with Chinese letters littering his backpack straps.

"Oh, yeah. I suppose that works too." Minghao's cheeks flushed. 

"Shit, we gotta go, man." Soonyoung took Minghao by the wrist and, quite literally, dragged him to the science building. 

Soonyoung quietly cracked the door open enough for them to slip in and tiptoed to the last row while Mrs. Yoon droned on about biology terms Minghao didn't recognize. 

"Mr. Kwon," she stopped in the middle of her sentence when she noticed the obvious flaming red hair moving in the back. "Late again? I'm starting to question if Counselor Hong was right to recommend you for my course with the effort you have been putting in to be here on time."

"I'm sorry, my alarm didn't go off," Soonyoung bowed, face matching his hair. "It won't happen again.

"This is the third time this week. Do you honestly believe that-"

"He was showing me around and that's why were late, Mrs. Yoon. It was my fault." Minghao, fake grimacing, bowed apologetically to the biology professor.

"And who are you?"

"Xu Minghao. Today's my first day."

"Oh, well then. Go to your seats and don't be tardy again. Now where was I..." Mrs. Yoon glanced back to her notes to find where she left off. 

"You have to sign up for all my classes now if Mrs. Yoon doesn't scold you. You must be a gift from the universe," Soonyoung gushed over him, and Minghao let a small laugh at his wide eyes. "But wouldn't want my dongsaeng to get behind in his credits."

"If you're not a freshman, why are you taking this class?"

"I was too late to sign up last year, and I wasn't about to sacrifice my summer. My counselor was able to pull some strings for me." They set out all their things before Soonyoung initiated a different conversation. "So have you joined any clubs yet?"

"I haven't really thought about it yet." Minghao patted down the hair on the back of his head, in thought. "I just got here late last night. I haven't even unpacked yet."

"What'd you use to do back in China? I'm sure we'd have something for that."

"I used to do martial arts, but not so much anymore, and learned how to b-boy a couple of years ago. That's really it."

"B-boy? That's basically dancing."

"I don't know, I've never-"

"I'm the president of the dance club. You should come to practice tonight." Minghao absentmindedly played with the scrunchie around his wrist as Soonyoung gushed about the team. 

 

("Here, I think you should get this instead," Mingming held up the navy velvet scrunchie that was wrongly hanging by all the men's watches. 

"But my hair isn't long enough," Minghao raised his gaze across the rack from the watch he had been inspected. 

"Just get it." Mingming flung it at Minghao. "It'd look good."

"Really, it will," Mingming promised when he noticed Minghao's expression. Minghao exited the store with a new weight on his wrist, and wallet missing a few yuan.)

 

Minghao hadn't ever thought of dance as more than something he did alone in his room but Soonyoung's words had a way of convincing him of the idea. 

"I guess I'll stop by if you really think I should," Minghao spoke in a tone that suggested he was unsure of him. 

"Yes! Just wait until I rub this into Hoseok's smug face, thinking he could recruit more people than me," Soonyoung mumbled into his sleeve with a smile threatening to show through his eyes. 

"Wait, what?" Minghao hadn't heard him between his quiet volume and trying to understand Mrs. Yoon well enough to jot down vague notes. 

"Oh, nothing. Don't worry your cute lil head." 

 

Minghao didn't pay much attention in his next two lectures. Hand automatically taking notes as his mind was clouded with thoughts of Mingming. Feeling alone as everyone around him talked as he busied himself with lining up his notebook and pencil for the twentieth time. Though he had managed to gain a new contact on his phone during Calculus as a disheveled, over-friendly giant sauntered over him, tripping over a chair in the process, and chatted up a storm. Mingyu seemed to be the type of person everyone on campus knew. He was annoyingly loud but made up for it with how genuinely kind he was. He offered to show Minghao around the campus and when Minghao declined, ate lunch with him, even though his own friends beckoned him over, and exchanged phone numbers. Minghao was grateful. It was always reassuring to see a familiar face in a crowd of strangers. 

Feeling a bit more reassured about getting settled in Seoul, he had a sudden burst of confidence to go to the dance studio.

It went well enough. Soonyoung offering a position, and Minghao reluctantly agreeing. (read: Soonyoung wouldn't budge from the doorway no matter he hard Minghao pushed and pulled until he agreed to join.)

 

It was on the way home that his world went to shit.

 

"Shit, oh fuck," Minghao cursed under his breath as he patted around his pockets for his Metro card. And there were plenty of pockets to check because his clothes were required to be "top fashion" in his eyes. 

It wasn't in any of them. Instead taking home perched on the kitchen counter back at his dorm so he wouldn't forget it that morning. So much for that. He would just have to walk home. All twelve miserable minutes. 

_ I guess I should turn on my flashlight so I don't trip,  _ Minghao pulled out his cracked phone only for it to stay dark. It was dead. It had shut down while Minghao had been too busy dancing to notice the vibration indicating it had died.  _ Great.  _ So he would be walking all twelve miserable minutes in the pitch black that masked the world around him, blinding him. He swore he would never bother the monsters under his bed again if he made it home in one piece. 

Minghao always had a sort of precognition about these things. This feeling gnawing at him that something was out of place, but with the eerie blindness and the deafening silence, save the occasional suspicious car driving past, his mind was fully activated in flight mode. 

A cold shiver went down his neck and paralyzed his spine when his ears sensed the slightest patter joining the silence. He stopped in his tracks and snapped his neck back but was only met with the same blurred scenery as before. 

Deciding to shrug it off, he turned back around to continue, only to slam his face into something  _ warm  _ and that was able to press his back into the brick wall of one of the campus buildings. 

Minghao looked up, once the distortination went away, with startled eyes to be met with crimson eyes. Minghao flinched but didn’t dare breath as his eyes took in the person’s features from their deep midnight hair that challenged the sky to his cracked lips, that were uncomfortably close for Minghao, and-

 

_ Holy shit, is that blood? _

 

__ The man’s unusually sharp canines were barely visible as they poked out of his parted mouth, but it didn’t hide the specks of blood dotting their trace all over the pearly white teeth. 

Minghao hadn't ever been a person who could rely on luck. Never had since the day he accidentally punched both of Mingming's parents. Don't ask how because his best friend howling of laughter was embarrassing enough in of itself. So honestly, being cornered into a dark alley by a vampire on the way home was to be expected. 

“If you’re going to do it, hurry up,” Minghao dismissed his initial reaction of fear for that of exhaustion. As if his blood was already gone. If this was how it ends, then he would be going out peacefully. (“Be a lover, not a fighter!” Mingming shot a v-sign to Minghao who was preoccupying himself with eye rolling and using his entire will in order to not hot glue Mingming to a rotting tree.) 

“Sorry.” The vampire blinked back his confusion and leaned down, hovering over Minghao’s neck. The hot breath fanning over his neck caused him to involuntarily shutter. “I just really need blood, and I promise I won’t take much. It will only be a minute.”

“Not like I really have a choice, but couldn’t you like take it from my wrist instead.” Minghao pointed out but was soon hissing from the excruciating pain shooting from his neck, back arching on the wall as he gripped for a hold on it. The vampire tightened his grip on Minghao’s arms for support.  “Damn it, give someone a warning before attacking their aorta artery.” 

 Only a second after he placed his lips around the bite to suck out blood, he flew back as if he had been burned and desperately spit blood out of his mouth.

Minghao was sure if he should have felt offended or not because quite obviously his blood didn’t taste good to a  _ vampire  _ but on the other hand, it saved him from a likely trip to the emergency room. 

“Sorry, but the neck is faster,” The vampire explained as he wiped his black sleeve across his mouth, face still scrunched up in distaste. “Fuck, what the hell is wrong with your blood?” 

Minghao touched the bite as he felt a harsh pang in his chest. He lifted his fingers away to examine his blood coating them in confusion. “I’m anemic? I guess that might be why. I forgot my pills.”

“Why would you do that? It tasted horrible!” The vampire scrunched his nose. 

“I’m bad at remembering to and it’s not like I could exactly imagine this scenario happening before. I didn’t even know things like you existed.” 

“I’m not a thing, and I have a name! Junhui.” Junhui dragged Minghao down the sidewalk in the same direction as Minghao’s original destination. “You should have told me you were anemic. That’s the worst blood I’ve literally ever had, and I’m probably older than your known family tree. You need to take those supplements.” 

“I don’t see how this is any of your business as you practically assaulted me, but I’m sorry my blood tastes like shit.” Minghao pointed his dorm building out and Junhui showed his acknowledged by dragging him up the flight of stairs. 

“You should be sorry,” Junhui grumbled.  _ Jesus, is he actually sulking?  _ “Now I have to find another human willing to walk alone at night. Do you know how much of a hassle that is? How loud humans scream when I’m politely ask for their blood?"

“Jeez, how rude of them,” Sarcasm laced its way into Minghao’s voice. 

Junhui glared before diverting his eyes back to Minghao’s neck. “You should wrap that up and take the fucking supplements.” He wiped at his mouth again, almost as if out of habit, and stalked out of the building. 

Minghao blinked down at the spot where he was just standing for a long moment then calmly closed the door. He pulled his phone out of his bag and pulled up Mingyu’s contact. 

 

**kermit:** do you believe in vampires  **(Read 10:56 pm)**

**kermit:** answer me you useless paperclip 

 

-

 

Minghao stopped, rain pouring down on his already soaked form, when an eerie sound plagued his ears. He, frozen due to a sudden paranoia feeding in the back of his mind, swore for a moment it was an alien coming to probe him but soon realized it was only a cricket chirping.  _ What cricket is fucking chipper when he could drown?  _ Minghao shook the thought away and picked his pace back up again. This wasn't the time to play hero.  _ Sorry, Jiminy.  _

Minghao, attempted in vain, blinked away the rain threatening to seep into his eyes. His vision went blurry as his contacts tried to readjust themselves to the water. 

All of his clothes were wet to the brim, making him shiver due to the cold, wet night. But his insides were on fire, his side burning with a stitch as he hurried to get back home. He struggled to breath with the stitch taking up all his concentration.

_ I'm such a fucking idiot,  _ Minghao gritted his teeth in realization as they clacked against one another due to his shivering.  _ I should've listened to Soonyoung.  _ That was a first, much to Minghao's humiliation, but he had stayed behind after practice, against Soonyoung's warning, to relearn some skills he hadn't used in years. And that's how he ended up here.

His shoes couldn't get a good grip on the sidewalk, almost too many times to count, making the ordeal increasingly harder than it already was. It was as if it had been iced over like a lake, reminding him of good nights when his ass would get- 

It was as if the embodiment of "I told you so" was coming back to bite him in the ass. Waiting for Minghao at his door.

 

Knock knock, motherfucker.

 

Panic surged into his mind and took hold over him as the ground slipped from the grip of his shoes, and he landed on the wet concrete with a quiet thud, the heavy rain overtaking the sound. Minghao groaned as he felt a sting on his right knee.

He looked down at it and cursed at the sight. His slacks had been ripped to shreds and blood oozed out of the lacerated skin. "Shit," he hissed regretfully when he poked at the broken skin. Almost as if in a sort of disbelief.

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Minghao jerked to look at the owner of the voice looming behind him. It was Junhui. 

“Why are you out here?” Minghao scowled, not really in the mood to be exsanguinated. 

“Mother nature’s being a bitch right now, so it's the ideal time to find blood because there's only people like you roaming around. I could also smell your blood, being a vampire and all.” 

"Touché and borderline creepy.” 

“So...have you been taking your supplements?” Minghao flushed at the question. He’d hate to admit it, but since that night, there had been a voice in the back of his head nagging him to take his neglected iron sitting on the bathroom counter. 

“Yeah, why? I hope you’re not expecting to get any.” 

“Can I not be a concerned, non-blood thirsty vampire?”

“That is a contradiction in of itself,” Minghao deadpanned. “Plus I don’t quite think I’m in the state be your blood bag.”

“I suppose not,” Junhui peeked down at the scraped knee. He grabbed Minghao’s wrist and pulled him up without much effort before Minghao even had time to process the touch. 

“Could you fucking not?” Minghao yanked his arm back into his chest as if Junhui’s touch was scolding water. 

"Sorry, but you should really tend to that," Junhui's eyes flicked down to his knees and he absentmindedly licked his dry lips. "It's distracting."

"Oh, a knee, how scandalous. Don't want you to be distracted."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Junhui playfully scowled before dragging Minghao along behind him. 

 

Minghao was getting a strong sense of deja vu.

 

"What are you doing?" Minghao warily eyed their intertwined hands, mind automatically thinking the worst now that he had been taking his supplements.

"To your apartment," Junhui's tone emphasized the unspoken  _ duh.  _ "Obviously you have no sense of self care since you weren't taking the pills before, so you probably won't clean this up properly." Minghao's silence was affirmation of his point. 

 

"The first aid kit is in the bathroom." Minghao informed the vampire once he unlocked the door to his dorm. Minghao walked toward the bathroom, only to look back at Junhui still at the entrance of the dorm, glancing down expectantly of the bordering between the dorm and the outside hall. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I can't come in unless you invite me into your home." 

"I don't care. Get the fuck in here already."

"You have to grant me permission."

"Fucking vampires and their rules," Minghao muttered to himself in disdain. "You can come into my humble, questionable rat hole. That good enough?" Junhui nodded in confirmation and stepped over the line. "Fucking fanatic. Now come on." 

He was going to regret that decision later, but for now, he thought nothing of it.

Minghao pulled the first aid kit out of the hanging cabinet and handed it over to Junhui and jumped up onto the counter for Junhui to have easier access to his knee. 

Junhui stood between his legs and fumbled around inside the kit until he made a hum of approval, indicating he found what he needed. He applied, after cleaning any gravel out of the opened wound to prevent any possible infection, several layers of dressing with pressure that made Minghao wince before it stopped bleeding. He then wrapped the gauze around it a few times before tucking it and packing the kit back up. 

"How did you know how to do all of that?" Minghao shot him a curious glance and jumped off the counter, not quite used to the feeling of the dressings on his skin. 

"I've worked with blood for centuries as a living, Hao. I think would know the basics by now."

"Minghao, it's Minghao."

"Sure thing, Haohao." Junhui flashed him a teasing smile. 

Minghao let out an exasperated sigh, the exhaustion of the day starting to catch up with him, but made no comment as he rolled up one of his sleeves. Junhui's eyebrows furrowed in silent confusion as Minghao offered his wrist to him expectantly. "Well, are you going to take it or not?" Minghao voiced out at Junhui's stillness.

"Your...blood?" Junhui eyed the gaunt, tanned arm in hesitation. 

"No, I just get a kick out of people looking at my arms. What do you think?" 

"Are you sure?"

"Do it before I lose my patience." All hesitation left Junhui's face at the declaration of consent, and he brought Minghao's wrist up to his fangs. He slowly dug them into the melanin enriched skin causing Minghao to whimper in pain from the bite, his stinging knee long forgotten. Goosebumps appearing on his skin from the sensation of Junhui's lips. 

 

-

 

Minghao had never been a big advocate for Halloween. Don't get him wrong, anything pumpkin spice flavor was fucking fantastic, but stupid pumpkins wastefully carved for one night? Not so much. 

So every goddamn year on this dreaded day, he has to deal with the university students, _grown-up adults,_ knocking on his damn door even though the lights were off. And don't get him started on the trick or treat tradition. It's an absolute load of bullshit, nobody ever partakes in the trick aspect rather just opting to further aid the obesity epidemic in the world. 

And the holiday itself? A total marketing scam from companies to take money out of consumer's willingly open palms.

Be happy it wasn't Christmas because he could go off forever on that topic. 

So no, if you decide to go to Pledis University dorm building D door number 17, Minghao will mutter something, in nicer terms, along the lines of fuck off while sipping his pumpkin spice latte. 

And that's exactly what happened when-

"Junhui?" Confusion crawled into his voice, replacing all previous aggravation, when he spotted a familiar face behind the trick or treater ghost (which looked more like a crumpled tissue in his opinion), walking past his dorm. 

"Hi, Haohao." Junhui turned around at his name and smiled widely when he recognized the owner of the voice.

"Why are you here?” Minghao pushed away the tingling feeling in chest at the nickname. 

"Are you kidding? Halloween is awesome for the blood business. You should see Wonwoo. He's having a field day a few neighborhoods down." 

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." Junhui waved off the question and sauntered over to lean on the door frame across from Minghao, their knees bumping in the process. Junhui's grazed over his bandage; Minghao knew the pain should have been registered but all he could think about was the warmth radiating onto his skin from Junhui. "Oh shit, sorry. Are you okay?" Concern flashed through his eyes and he stared intently at Minghao. Minghao internally squirmed at the attention, skin crawling at the gaze and face forming a tint of red.

"I'm fine," Minghao bluttered out quickly, flustered. 

 "How's your leg doing by the way?"

"Perfect, amazing. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because you scraped it pretty badly the other day?"

"Oh no, it's fine. What's it to you anyway? Aren't vampires supposed to heal quickly?" Junhui frowned, not buying it, but didn't push it further.

"No, I can't. That's just a stupid urban myth."

"But you can fly at least, right?"

"Contrary to belief, no, I can't transform into a bat either."

"So what can you do?" Minghao asked incredulously, his whole life feeling like a lie. 

"I can drink blood and don't require food to stay alive."

"That's disappointing. So you can't go outside without spf 100, eat food, and not even fly?"

"I know, I suck," Junhui winked.

"That's disgusting."

"Sorry, I forgot your like five years old."

"Im sorry I forgot you're older than Mona Lisa, and I'm not a fucking child," Minghao passive aggressively let out. He'd definitely regret it later but that was for then. "I've been arrested twice."

"Really?" Junhui eyebrows rose, his mouth parted slightly. It was stupidly cute. "What for?"

"One was because of a protest."

"You got arrested for that?"

"I didn't even go to jail. They only used zip ties."

"So how did you get arrested the other time?"

Minghao mumbled something inaudible that Junhui's ears couldn't quite catch. 

"What was that?"

"I said I hit someone off a bike with a pool noodle," Minghao's words caused a smirk to slowly grow on his face. "Don't. Do not."

"Don't what?" Junhui smiled wider with a devilish glint in his eyes.  _ Now this is a vampire.  _

"Do what you were about to do."

"I wasn't about to do anything."

"Stop that."

"Seriously." The smile on Junhui's face only grew as Minghao scrunched his nose in annoyance. "But maybe if you were to lend me some of your blood, it'll be forgotten."

"Are you blackmailing me?" Minghao baffled at his bluntness.

"Think of it as a trade." 

Minghao narrowed his eyes in scrutiny of his bullshit, but held out his wrist for the other. Junhui shot him a quick, grateful smile before not hesitating to dig his fangs into his skin. Minghao hissed only slightly, becoming more used to the feeling. 

"It's much better," Junhui cleaned the blood from the side of his mouth and wiped his hand on his vampire cape (a costume of course). 

"Thanks," Minghao's voice dripped in sarcasm. "Now go the fuck away so I can enjoy my pumpkin spice in peace, bloody prick."

 

-

 

These days, Minghao was beginning to suspect that mother nature had a personal agenda against him. 

He struggled to walk through the storm, vision blurred by the violent pour of rain and his umbrella rendered useless against the raging wind. 

_ Jesus, I'm going to die,  _ Minghao accepted as he stumbled back straight towards the brick wall due to the force of the wind. 

Except he didn't, confusion breaking loose as his back didn't come into harsh contact with the solid surface. Instead he caught his footing again after stumbling a bit and felt a much softer breeze on his back. 

He took in the place, recognizing it as a coffee shop by the setup of the tables and a counter with machines behind it. 

There was a man, wearing a plain black turtleneck and no name tag, behind the counter with cat-like eyes and sharp cheekbones that bore his curious gaze on Minghao but otherwise uninterested.

He shook the rain out of his hair, placed the umbrella in the stand by the door, and walked wearily over to him. 

"Hi, welcome to Enchanted's. What can I get for you today?" 

"Uh, I'll just have an americano, I guess," Minghao randomly ordered the first thing that came to mind. Wonwoo shot him a look, not bothering to hide his judgement this time, but didn't make a comment as he worked away on the machine behind him.

"Here you go." The barista handed him the mug, and Minghao thanked him.

"So is this place new? I don't remember seeing it before." Minghao made small talk between sips.

"Never seen it before?" The barista furrowed his eyebrows, adjusting his glasses as he looked up from a bowl that looked oddly like a cauldron to Minghao in perplexment.

"Yeah, what else would-" Minghao was cut off by the bell that indicated a customer had entered. 

"The usual, Wonwoo," the customer called out to the barista. Minghao looked back in annoyance at the obnoxious customer, only to choke on his coffee. 

_ Wait, is that Junhui? Then that must mean... _

" _ This  _ is the shop you were talking about? He's Wonwoo?"

"Yeah, why?" Junhui was still turned to face Wonwoo's direction until he recognized the voice and it visibly clicked in his brain. "Minghao? Why are you here? No, better yet, how are you here?"

"Am I missing something?" Wonwoo raised an eyebrow as he handed over a mug filled with what looked crimson red in it. 

"He's human." Junhui harshly gestured over at Minghao.

"Really? How fascinating," the light caught in Wonwoo's glasses as he stared intriguingly at him. "That explains why his prescence is so dull."

"Said human can hear you." Minghao sat down at one of the tables, not sure if to be offended. "Besides I got pushed in here because of the wind."

"Still the protection barrier should've prevented you from entering, unless…." Wonwoo's knowing eyes wandered over to Junhui, who had taken a seat across from Minghao.

"Unless what?"

"Oh, nothing. Carry on, I'll be in the back getting ingredients for this potion."

They sat in silence as each occasionally took a sip from their mugs, Minghao eyed the other's mug.

"So I thought you didn't need to drink or anything?"

"It's blood." Junhui bared his teeth to show his teeth glossed over with the substance and lifted his mug to show off its contents. 

"Oh." How dumb if him not to realize. "So how do you know Wonwoo?"

"Hard to not know him when you're a magical being. Not that many business witches around these days."

"So that's why-"

"You know, you know a lot about me but I know nothing about you, Hao. Besides you having a knack for getting stuck in the rain and you're anemic, of course."

"What's there to know? I'm not the vampire here."

"I don't know, things you like?"

"I like frogs," Minghao said automatically and Junhui almost choked on the blood, trying to not burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, what?" Junhui gave an apologetic wave when Minghao glared at him. 

"I don't know, I have just always liked them. They're just unique in so many different ways. Like some can be heard miles away. I mean, there's over 5,000 different species. Ranging from glass frogs to Kermit."

A moment or two passed before Minghao realized Junhui hadn't responded. He felt a warmth grow in his cheeks as he glanced over at the other, whose eyes glowed warmly in the coffee shop's light, simply staring at Minghao as he wore an expression Minghao couldn't quite place. 

"Sorry." Minghao cleared his throat nervously. "I didn't mean to ramble on like that."

"No, it's okay," Junhui spoke in a slow, soft voice. His fingers unconsciously tracing on the handle of his mug. "I like hearing you talk." 

"Oh, thanks. I guess," Minghao said in an undertone, not knowing what else to say.

"Hey, Junhui," Wonwoo came back from the back, saving Minghao. "Yoon Jeonghan's fair is coming into town this weekend."

"Really, damn, I haven't seen him in almost twenty years." 

_ He says twenty years as if it is nothing. I would've been a goddamn baby. _

"Is he still enslaving his demons for circus acts?"

"What else would you expect? It's Jeonghan." Wonwoo paused from stirring his elixir mix to give him a duh face. 

"Yeah, but it's the twenty-first century."

"Excuse me, what?" Minghao voiced his lack of knowledge. 

"Jeonghan's the devil. Did you not gather that?" Wonwoo rolled his eyes. "Oh hocus pocus, do you humans ever shut up?

"Wait, does that mean God's real?" Minghao looked at Junhui instead.

"How about we save this for another time, yeah?" 

 

-

 

Minghao was bored as fuck that Saturday, rolling around in his bed as he contemplated his existence, half awake. Grumpily, he grabbed his phone and yanked out the charger after the alarm went off for the fortieth time (read past noon).

_ God, I need to get out of the house.  _ Minghao pushed his glasses on before seeing what everyone was doing that day.

  
  


**housewife gyu:** sorry i already have plans w wonwoo :( tmrw maybe bb

 

**kermit:** youre so in love, its disgusting

**kermit:** i wish i never told you about them

**kerm8:** tell him i said hi

 

**housewife gyu:** im forever in ur debt :)

  
  


**two captain:** i had like a hella mount ah sh0tz n countin last nite so itz apass 4 mwah

 

**kermit** : you dumb bitch

  
  
  


**hoesock:** sorry, hon, I wish. I have to help out with some senior stuff, promise I'll make it up to youuuuu (*~▽~)

 

**kermit:** fighting, hoseok!1! you get that diploma

  
  
  


**wowz:** sorry, i already am doing smth

**wowz:** also thanks for introducing me to mingyu even tho it coulda exposed the entire magical community

  
  


Moments like these, the ache in Minghao's chest was more noticeable than usual. He missed Mingming. He missed his mom's cooking. He missed being able to speak his first language. Most of all, he missed Anshan. 

Minghao pulled up Google search with a new surge of determination. He was going to enjoy himself that day if it was the last thing he did. 

Fifteen minutes into desperately searching, his finger paused on a cat cafe. No, he wasn't going to go there. It just so happened the thought of cats triggered a memory in his head. Wonwoo had mentioned the other day of a fair in town run by the devil. Minghao was fucking down for that satanic shit. He didn't have anything better to do after all, and he didn't need to bother worrying about being used as a blood sacrifice as he hadn't had the motivation to take his supplements at all that week. 

And that's how he ended up standing in the crowd, taking in the lights overpowering the now setting sun. Watch in exchange for the normal scrunchie usually adorning his wrist. He needed change in his life, even microscopic.

He bought a large container of cotton candy, a color of pink that could never compare to the current sky, and entertained himself by simply people watching the fair attendees. 

There was a certain pair in particular that had caught Minghao's eyes. The two men didn't share any physical contact, but it was the look in their eyes that sent his stomach churning enviously. 

The sweet cotton candy melted in his mouth but all he could taste was bitterness. Ever since moving to South Korea, he had been having a hard time making new friends. Naturally, the couple gave him even more reason to long for interactions. 

 

"Haohao!"

 

He took that back. He was completely alright with shoving himself into a small hole for the rest of university.

"Oh fuck no," Minghao held his hand out in front of him as if trying to ward him away. Whatever he was doing, it had a small effect as Junhui stepped five feet back. He would not be a blood bag today.

"Are you kidding me? It's not like I can come near you anyway, you're wearing a silver watch." Junhui exasperated, almost insulted by the other's less than welcoming behavior.

"Good, goodbye." Minghao picked up the pace when he noticed Junhui started following him at a distance. 

"Unlike me, you can't run forever."

"No, but sometimes a prey can outsmart his predator," Minghao taunting, admittedly a bit too smug, smiled at him before sprinting into the mirror maze.

"Oh, fuck you, you child!" Junhui bashfully gave an apologetic smile when a mother sent him a glare. 

Junhui knew it was a mistake for a vampire like himself to follow after him, but he did it anyways.

Junhui cursed under his breath as his side hit one of the mirrors from him not being able to tell it was there due to his missing reflection. The entire area around him just looked like the floor endlessly continuing into the darkness.

_ Fuck it _ , Junhui decided then and there, speed walking. He wouldn't ever catch up to Minghao at a snail's pace. 

 

That lasted about five seconds. 

 

"OW, MOTHERFUCKER!" Junhui yelped as a shooting pain went up his nose when it collided forcibly with a mirror. He held his hand up to grip it and could feel blood pouring out. "Shit!"

Not many people realize this, but Vampires don't produce their own blood. They rely on the blood they take from their victims. And with zero healing powers...it's a recipe for disaster. It was a major reason they hide from humanity.

Junhui didn't know how much time ticked by before he heard the distant shuffle of feet. He called out, beginning to feel faint and the hunger for blood, hoping it was Minghao. 

He struggled to keep his head tilted only slightly as he looked into the dark, waiting for a sign of movement. 

"Holy shit! Junhui, stay awake." Minghao shook him as gently as he could afford. "Fuck, I don't know what to do. I should get help. Just hold on, I'm going to find someone who-"

"Don't, stay." Junhui grabbed his watch adorned wrist, ignoring the burn.

"But I don't know what to do!"

"Do you honestly believe I'm better off in a stranger's hands? What do you think they're going to do when they realize I'm not like them?"

"Lie then for fucks sake. You're going to die the longer we wait."

"And risk my whole kind's safety? Go to hell. You're acting like this is a death sentence. It's a bloody nose."

"Hey," Minghao frowned,looking down at Junhui's grip on him. Junhui loosened his hold.

"Sorry, I just, no. I can't risk it. Especially something so trivial."

"What can I do then?"

"I don't want to pressure you into this and you have every right to say no, but I need blood."

"It's not going to taste good, but have at it," Minghao pushed up his sleeve without hesitation.

"All my hard efforts for nothing. I don't remember habits being that difficult to break. Then again you used to be publicly stoned in public for any reason. You know, you have it real easy. The pills are right there, take them!"

"Now's not really the fucking time for this, now is it?" Minghao pushed his arm into Junhui's mouth without breaking skin. Junhui's flared his fangs but then sat back again, just as quickly. 

"Could you please take your watch off first? It's Making my face itch, and I'm pretty sure my hand has a burn mark now."

"Ha, no. This was expensive." Minghao did, though, place it on his other wrist and crouched a bit farther away. 

Junhui did bite this time without much struggle and he drank as if his life depended on it (which it did for he had bleeding for a fair amount of time). But as soon as the bare minimum blood count was achieved, he flung Minghao's arm away from him. It was just as horrible as the first time they met. "Fuck, we are getting your iron back up, Hao." He looked up to look at him and his eyes widen. "Are you okay? Was that too much?"

Minghao, already having been low in iron due to anemia, was slumped against the opposite mirror, having momentarily fainted. 

"No, I'm alright. Just a little lightheaded." Minghao smiled weakly. 

"Okay, well...fang you." Junhui had to hold his side in pain as he laughed at his own pun. Minghao's eye roll only sent him further off the edge.

"Never say that again; it might come off wrong. I'm unaware if I should feel insulted or praised."

"Just say you're welcome and take me to the goddamn ferris wheel."

 

-

 

\+ Bonus 

 

"Here you go! Put it on." Junhui handed a frilly kiss the chef apron to a reluctant Minghao. 

"This is ridiculous. I feel ridiculous." Minghao pouted, slightly annoyed at his boyfriend for pulling him into this.

"Oh come on, Haohao." Junhui playfully tugged at Minghao's sleeve, causing an unwilling fond smile to grow on the younger's face. "Plus you'll get to learn how to make iron-enriched food."

"Why don't you just do it for me. It's not like you're going to die anytime soon."

"Just do it this once."

"Fine."

"Thank you, Chef Mingyu, for helping us," Junhui turned to bow politely to Mingyu, who had set up his dorm as an acting kitchen class. 

"This is fucking ridiculous," Minghao complained, though it seemed that he didn't entirely mean it, when Junhui urged him to do the same. "That brat will never let me live this down. 

"Minghao, honey," Mingyu sweetly smiled at his ~~former~~ friend. "I was there last week when you were cooking that fish. It was so raw that it was still finding Nemo. Now put on the apron and wash your hands, you panini head."


End file.
